Former Vice President Mike Pence asked Georgians to vote and pray for “all they endured” as he spoke to the family of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and at a rally Tuesday in Cumming, Georgia, just days before Election Day.
Pence stood by Kemp, who tried to unseat former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary earlier this year, and praised the incumbent as “one of the most successful conservative governors in the United States of America.”
“I want to encourage you, if you feel inclined to bow your head and bend your knee from time to time, the next six and a half days will be a good time to do it,” Pence said. “I want to encourage you to pray for this fine family. Pray for what they endured for you to make Georgia more prosperous and more secure.
Although Trump did everything in his power to see Kemp denied the Republican nomination for a second term, in an act of political revenge after Kemp refused to validate his lies about voter fraud in Georgia two years ago, Pence made a strong case for Kemp’s re-election. election
Pence noted his support for Kemp in the hotly contested 2018 GOP primary, saying he was “before Brian Kemp was cool,” and praised the governor for pursuing “the same agenda” in Georgia that the Trump administration pursued for the country.
Asked after his remarks whether a Kemp victory would provide a “blueprint” for other Republicans, Pence didn’t bite, telling reporters he was “absolutely focused on 2022” and that Kemp had “struck a deep chord with its people.” State.”
When pressed about which candidates he would campaign for, Pence — without naming Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker — backed the GOP’s entire state slate.
“I’m here in Georgia supporting the entire ticket, but I’m here today for Gov. Brian Kemp,” Pence said. “We didn’t have many partners for economic growth, for law and order, or for our values during our time in the White House.
Pence repeatedly praised Kemp’s decision to reopen businesses in late April 2020 in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Georgia was the first state in America to reopen, and Brian Kemp led the way,” Pence said to applause. But that decision was panned at the time, even by Trump, who told reporters he disagreed with the move, saying it would come “very soon” — and told Kemp.
In his own remarks, Kemp spoke of his decision saying, “Georgians are not going to sit in their basements, lose everything they’ve got because of the virus,” and argued that the move helped seed the state’s current economic growth.
Pence defended Georgia’s new voting laws passed in 2021, which added restrictions to voting, making absentee voting more difficult, as well as extending the overall number of days for early voting. Turnout has been strong so far, beating some state records.
Both Kemp and Pence railed against Abrams in their remarks, describing him as too liberal for Georgia and criticizing his support for some criminal justice reform measures.
“Talk to your neighbors and friends across the backyard fence, email your colleagues, your family members across the state, tweet if you need to,” Pence deadpanned as Kemp chuckled behind him. “Tell someone about Brian Kemp.”
